Along the Natchez Trace

Wednesday, March 12, 2014

The Ringling, Sarasota Florida, Circus and a Whole Lot More, The Circus Museum

Copyright 2014, CABS for Reflections From the Fence

The entrance to the entire estate, museums, gardens, the visitors center. The Ringling!

Entrance to the main museum and the miniature circus.

Hanging above the main hall. May all your days be circus days. Has a nice ring to it.

The museum is packed full of wonderful displays. They have a large collection. I am not sure I have ever been in a museum that had so many displays (lots of goodies on the walls). Yes, it was overwhelming. If you read every placard, every display, you would need two 8 hour days just for this museum. Our approach, right or wrong, was to wander around, gaze about, stop now and then, wander around some more. We had to go for overall appreciation for what a great collection. We were on information overload. It was great!

Costumes. Did not capture any signage, oh, who needs it, isn't this neat??

Time era 1919-1910 a wood, iron, rubber and brass steam calliope. And, by the way, look at those legs!

In one of the display areas they challenged visitors to walk the tightrope. Despite what this looks like, Man is NOT in the air, that "rope" was right on the ground. His first attempt ended right about here:

Attempt two:

Hurrying off the other end, he was able to click the buzzer. (HoboBob we KNOW you could have done this without any issue.)

The Wisconsin Railroad Car, John and Mable's first private car, built in 1905, by the Pullman Company.

The observation lounge.

One of the bedrooms, err, staterooms. There were three staterooms in this private car.

A bathroom facility, the sink folds up into the wall. The shelf below, is the toilet lid. Makes the bath area in Tana look luxurious and large!

Did you ever go to the circus as a child and watch the human cannonball being launched? Isn't this rather amazing!?!?!

One of several different types of wagons on display. This one obviously would have been horse drawn.

There were also several movies or videos discussing the circus, history, the Ringling family story.

Next and lastly, we shall visit the miniature circus. As much as I enjoyed ALL of The Ringling, that was my favorite part!

1 comment:

Bill Cody began his entertainment career on the stage in a play. Then he created the Buffalo Bill's Wild West which was considered a circus-like attraction. He presented mini-play acts - one right after another - somewhat like a three ring circus of today. Maybe that is why he was included in this museum.

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